All websites present on the internet have one common goal – they wish for many visitors to their website. Websites strive hard to increase viewership and develop a wide readership base. Whether or not they intend to monetize the website at some point, increasing traffic is crucial.
So, how do you get visitors to visit your website and spend some time on it? It is a given that content must be top quality to catch and hold a reader’s interest. Beyond that, one effective method to maintain readers’ interest in your website is to engage them in discussions about topics relevant to the website or the post. Adding a forum is a great way to start a conversation and encourage repeat visits from users.
This brings us to bbPress. bbPress is open-source forum software designed for WordPress. The plugin can add forums to posts and pages, allowing readers to leave comments or start conversations. It is ideal for setting topics, receiving comments, and enabling discussions.
bbPress has over 300,000 active installs, and hundreds of WordPress themes are built to support this powerful forum plugin. Here are our top recommended themes.
The developers have kept bbPress lightweight and efficient, but there are several excellent addons available to customize bbPress to fit your needs. You can choose addons to give your forum the specific features you want.
Best Free Plugins for bbPress
1. ProfilePress – Paid Membership Plugin, Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content
You’ve probably noticed a small constant image next to names on the internet, especially in forums and author pages. This image, known as an avatar, is commonly managed by Gravatar in WordPress.
With ProfilePress, you can upload any photo from your library, just like a post. You can set up a default avatar and disable Gravatar if preferred. A standalone avatar can be displayed on the front page, and contributors and subscribers can upload their images with specified dimensions and file sizes. You can use a shortcode compatible with all themes in posts.
2. Rating Widget
Rating Widget allows users to rate posts, pages, and comments with thumb and star ratings. It is the most popular Five Star Review System available. The free version supports unlimited ratings with up to 1 million page views per month but includes Rating Widget branding.
You can add a ‘Top Rated’ widget to your sidebar to highlight top blogs or posts. Customize the widget to fit any browser, create various ratings, and place them where desired in your posts or pages. Manage ratings directly from your WordPress dashboard.
The Starter version, free from branding, supports 50,000 page views per month and up to 1,000 ratings, with unlimited votes and email support. The Professional version includes a Management Dashboard, analytics, IP-based visitor identification, and is ideal for voting contests with SSL/HTTPS support, 250,000 page views, and 3,000 ratings. The Business version adds full moderation, real-time analytics, and fraud alerts.
3. MyCRED
Websites often reward users with points or rewards to encourage participation. MyCRED is an adaptive points management system that helps you manage a rewards program. This plugin enables you to build a points-based reward system, allowing users to accumulate points for actions like posting comments.
You can manually adjust points at any time, support multiple point collection programs, and log any point changes. Users can track their points in the log, and you can set limits or conditions for earning points.
MyCRED supports many popular plugins and includes addons for advanced functions like points transfer and conversions to store purchases. Premium add-ons are also available for additional features.
4. Anti-Spam by CleanTalk
CleanTalk evaluates forms and user behavior to identify spammers. This plugin sends details to CleanTalk services to determine if a message should be allowed or flagged as spam. It also maintains a list of email addresses used by spammers.
Anti-Spam by CleanTalk offers 99.9982% accuracy in spam detection, automatically blacklisting spam-related email addresses, domains, and IPs. It protects all forms including contact forms, comments, and registrations, and allows you to review existing users and comments.
Enable the advanced ‘Spam Firewall’ option to block requests from malicious IP addresses, preventing spam before it reaches your website by blocking page loads.
This plugin provides a comprehensive anti-spam solution for WordPress sites, eliminating the need for CAPTCHA while securing logins, comments, and contact forms.
5. Content-Aware Sidebars
Content-Aware Sidebars is a versatile plugin that allows you to create and display multiple sidebars with various content types. You can target specific sidebars to particular users, create dynamic sidebars that replace or merge with existing ones, and show custom sidebars only to logged-in users.
Content-Aware Sidebars also supports publishing schedules and conditional displays. For example, you can configure sidebars to show specific posts by particular authors only to selected readers.
6. bbPress WP Tweaks
bbPress WP Tweaks is a valuable plugin designed to enhance the sidebar section of your bbPress forums. To utilize this tool effectively, select a compatible forum wrapper file and choose an action such as replace, prepend, or append for the sidebar. You can then target a specific sidebar or use the default one.
With bbPress WP Tweaks, you can add widgets like user login, registration links, and descriptions to your forum’s sidebar, improving accessibility and user experience.
7. bbPress Notify (No Spam)
Elevate your bbPress notifications with bbPress Notify (No Spam). This free plugin lets you fully customize and personalize notifications, replacing the default subscription messages with tailored ones. It allows notifications in plain text, custom HTML, or multipart formats, and you can even include images.
Start with the free version to test its features, and upgrade to premium to access additional functionalities and enhance your bbPress site further.
8. Inline Image Upload for bbPress
Enhance your bbPress forums effortlessly with the Inline Image Upload for bbPress plugin. This tool adds a convenient button to insert or edit images in posts and replies, allowing users to upload images directly from their computers.
The Pro version of Inline Image Upload for bbPress offers additional features such as controlling who can upload images, changing the upload directory, and converting all images to a uniform format. These enhancements provide even greater flexibility and functionality for managing your forum’s visual content.
9. Paid Memberships Pro
Transform your bbPress site into a premium forum with Paid Memberships Pro. This essential plugin allows you to set up membership levels and restrict access to certain forum areas based on membership status. Easily manage membership requirements from the admin dashboard and integrate seamlessly with your existing bbPress setup.
Ensure you have the main Paid Memberships Pro plugin installed to utilize this addon. The plugin simplifies membership management, making it a great choice for creating exclusive content and engaging your community with a structured membership system.
10. GD Topic Polls for bbPress
Add interactive polls to your bbPress forums with the GD Topic Polls for bbPress plugin. This plugin enables both forum owners and members to create and manage polls on various topics. It’s easy to set up and provides extensive customization options for developers.
GD Topic Polls allows you to create polls for new and existing topics, add descriptions, and limit responses to one per user. You can also define roles that are permitted to create polls and automate poll closure when a topic ends. Enhance user engagement and gather valuable feedback with this powerful polling tool.
11. GD bbPress Attachments
Enhance your bbPress forums by allowing users to add attachments with ease using the GD bbPress Attachments plugin. This tool integrates with the WordPress media library, enabling you to set limits on attachment size and quantity for each forum. Display attachments as thumbnails and embed them in topics and replies for a richer user experience.
The admin panel provides an overview of attachment counts for topics and replies, along with a detailed list of attachments and any upload errors. For advanced features, consider the premium version, GD bbPress Toolbox Pro, which offers enhanced control over attachments and additional bbPress functionalities.
12. GD bbPress Tools
Enhance your bbPress forums with additional features using the GD bbPress Tools plugin. This tool allows users to add signatures, quotes, and other elements to replies or topics, supporting 30 BBcodes for enhanced functionality.
The plugin integrates with the toolbar menu for easy access and provides additional custom views. For more advanced features, including extra BBcodes, email notification control, and improved attachment management, explore the premium version.
Note: Some plugins with fewer active installs, such as those with around 1,000 or fewer, may still offer valuable features and maintain high ratings. They are worth considering if they meet specific needs for your forum.
- bbPress Topic Count – Display the total count of articles, replies, or posts under an author’s avatar to track their activity.
- bbPress Private Groups – Organize users into groups and manage forum access with private or public settings. Group titles and descriptions remain visible, while access is restricted to members only.
That’s It
We’ve covered a range of essential bbPress plugins to enhance your forum’s functionality. If you have any additional plugins that have benefited your forum, please share them with our readers.
